Originally Posted by
pixelhead
Uh, you all are missing the point that NIke doesn't dilute their athelete's image with fashion shoes... And the Griffey analogy doesn't hold up... The Air Griffy's aren't made so they can sell a non-cleated version. That model exists for training and I believe he wears them on austro turf. Guess what? There's no golf on astroturf, and most of the training is playing more golf (though tiger is known for bringing true weight and cardio training to the sport).
Bottom line, outside of some poor selling stuff in Jordan line, and reissues, Nike doesn't drop lifestyle shoes... leave that to Reebok, BKs, Ekko, whatever...
I do think they could cross over some tiger designs into their Cole Hann dress shoe line. I've always been temped to grab some Nike golf shoes, rip out the spikes and wear the mas dress shoes
Finally, whats kinda unique golf (at least as compared to basketball and running, where Nike's legacy of technology leadership and dominace) is the shoes tend to be not the primary focus of the innovation for the sport. It's all about clubs, balls, etc... unlike J's it's not the shoes... Golf shoes just have to be slick, waterproof walking shoes. And really only pros walk. Your average weekend guy guy is riding in carts. So Nike's become a leader in golf by not focusing on shoes and focusing where the money is... in equipment. Nike was making golf shoes for nearly 20 years before tiger came along. They only became a dominant player one they got into making equipment.
Also, while there may not be as many young kids into golf as they are into b-ball, golfers are a higher value target. They don't spend $100 twice a year on shoes, they spend thousands a season on clubs, clothes, and balls... They take golf vacations and spend thousands... Ever hear of someone taking a basketball vacation?
These are the doctor's, lawyers, VP's who have the bank to blow on "being like Tiger"... Marketing 101 will tell you it can be just as valuable to have fewer high value customers... think BMW, Apple, etc...